At the G20 Summit in Cannes, on 3 and 4 November, the Secretary-General urged the G20 leaders to deliver united leadership to address the urgent problems of the world economy and welcomed the efforts at the Cannes Summit in this regard.
The Secretary-General called on leaders to address long term challenges by accelerating progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and uniting behind a common vision of sustainable development at the Rio +20 summit next year. The Secretary-General also encouraged the G20 leaders to contribute to a new, post-2015 development agenda based on the principles of sustainability, equity and inclusion. Accordingly, he urged leaders to set out sustainable development goals that could pick up where the MDGs leave off.
The Secretary-General said he was encouraged by the G20's commitment to advancing the development agenda set out in Seoul. He said that by advancing its agenda on infrastructure, human resources development and resilient growth, the G20 could and should present an explicitly pro-youth vision for the future, particularly with respect to education and employment opportunities.
The Secretary-General pledged that the United Nations will play its full role on development. He said the UN would continue to broker multi-stakeholder partnerships to achieve the MDGs, such as the successful efforts on women's and children's health, on food and nutrition security, and on sustainable energy.
The Secretary-General emphasized that development requires financing and urged the G20 countries to explore all possible options, public, private and innovative sources of finances for development. In this context, he said he hoped that the G20 leaders would seriously consider the options presented by Bill Gates, in his report to the G20, to broaden the funding base for today's very real development needs.
On food security, the Secretary-General welcomed the G20's commitment to a comprehensive approach that encourages sustainability, promotes resilience, benefits smallholders and protects the vulnerable. He urged leaders to make sure that their commitments lead to concrete actions.
The Secretary-General also said that sustainable energy was the key to unlocking three great challenges: reducing poverty, reducing the risks of climate change and re-charging economies. The Secretary-general called on leaders to achieve universal energy access, double energy efficiency improvement, and double the share of renewable energy, all by 2030. He introduced his “Sustainable Energy for All” initiative involving leaders from business, finance, government, and civil society. He was gratified that the G20 leaders welcomed the initiative in their Declaration.
Finally, the Secretary-General welcomed the discussion on climate change by the G20 leaders as well as their work to build on his High-level Advisory Group on Climate Change Financing (AGF). The Secretary-General called for the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to be launched at the Climate Change Meeting in Durban, South Africa, in December. The Secretary-General also called on all governments to help find a compromise solution in Durban for the Kyoto Protocol in order to maintain the important institutions associated with it, and the rules-based system, while securing a comprehensive climate agreement.
The Secretary-General commended the year-long efforts of the French Presidency and urged the leaders to continue to stay firmly united behind a short-term recovery agenda without losing sight of the longer term sustainable development issues facing the world.